Philippine E-Journals

Feeding Value of Roundup Ready (Nk603) Corn Compared To Its Near Isogenic Counterpart And Commercial Corn For Broilers

Lydia J. Querubin | Celina Donna Q. Bantoc | Veneranda P. Anila-magpantayl | Josephine R. Centeno | Nelia F. Carandang

Discipline: Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science

 

Abstract:

A total of 300 day-old straight-run chicks (Ross strain) were randomly distributed to three treatments with eight replicates and 10 birds per replicate following a completely randomized design. The trial was conducted to determine the feeding value of Roundup Ready (NK603) corn (DK818RR), its near isogenic counterpart (DK818ISO) and a commercial corn (CC). The three corn types had similar proximate composition except for CC having the highest crude protein (9.40%), followed by DK818ISO (8.84%) and DK818RR (8.05%). Gross energy and apparent metabolizable energy (ME) of the corn types did not significantly differ. The AME values (3324 to 3338 kcal/kg feed) were slightly lower than the value used in poultry formulation (3400 kcal/kg feed). Incorporation of DK818RR in broiler diets did not affect the broiler performance in terms of Iivc weight and feed conversion efficiency. However, broilers fed the control corn significantly consumed lesser feed than those fed DK818ISO. The coefficient of digestibility of crude protein and ether extract for broiler starter and finisher did not differ significantly. Likewise, dressing percentage, organ weight and broiler carcass characteristics were also similar among the treatments. The results suggest that Roundup Ready corn is nutritionally equivalent to non-genetically modified corn when fed to broilers.